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Relativistic surface high harmonics have been considered a unique source for the generation of intense isolated attosecond pulses in the extreme ultra-violet and x-ray spectral ranges. Their practical realization, however, is still a challenging task and requires identification of optimum experimental conditions and parameters. Here, we present measurements and particle-in-cell simulations to determine the optimum values for the most important parameters. In particular, we investigate the dependence of harmonics efficiency, divergence, and beam quality on the pre-plasma scale length as well as identify the optimum conditions for generation of isolated attosecond pulses by measuring the dependence of the harmonics spectrum on the carrier - envelope phase of the driving infrared field. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

International audience; Real-time observation of ultrafast dynamics in the microcosm is a fundamental approach for understanding the internal evolution of physical, chemical and biological systems. Tools for tracing such dynamics are flashes of light with duration comparable to or shorter than the characteristic evolution times of the system under investigation. While femtosecond (fs) pulses are successfully used to investigate vibrational dynamics in molecular systems, real time observation of electron motion in all states of matter requires temporal resolution in the attosecond (1 attosecond (asec) = 10(-18) s) time scale. During the last decades, continuous efforts in ultra-short pulse engineering led to the development of table-top sources which can produce asec pulses. These pulses have been synthesized by using broadband coherent radiation in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectral region generated by the interaction of matter with intense fs pulses. Here, we will review asec pulses generated by the interaction of gas phase media and solid surfaces with intense fs IR laser fields. After a brief overview of the fundamental process underlying the XUV emission form these media, we will review the current technology, specifications and the ongoing developments of such asec sources.

In this paper we report on an experimental study of high harmonic radiation generated in nanometer-scale foil targets irradiated under normal incidence. The experiments constitute the first unambiguous observation of odd-numbered relativistic harmonics generated by the v × B component of the Lorentz force verifying a long predicted property of solid target harmonics. Simultaneously the observed harmonic spectra allow in-situ extraction of the target density in an experimental scenario which is of utmost interest for applications such as ion acceleration by the radiation pressure of an ultraintense laser.

Studies of ultrafast dynamics along with femtosecond-pulse metrology rely on non-linear processes, induced solely by the exciting/probing pulses or the pulses to be characterized. Extension of these approaches to the extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) spectral region opens up a new, direct route to attosecond scale dynamics. Limitations in available intensities of coherent XUV continua kept this prospect barren. The present work overcomes this barrier. Reaching condition at which simultaneous ejection of two bound electrons by two-XUV-photon absorption becomes more efficient than their one-by-one removal it is succeeded to probe atomic coherences, evolving at the 1fs scale, and determine the XUV-pulse duration. The investigated rich and dense in structure autoionizing manifold ascertains applicability of the approach to complex systems. This initiates the era of XUV-pump-XUV-probe experiments with attosecond resolution., 27 pages

Harmonic generation from relativistically oscillating plasma surfaces formed during the interaction of high contrast lasers with solid-density targets has been shown to be an efficient source of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and X-ray radiation. Recent work has demonstrated that the exceptional coherence properties of the driving laser can be mirrored in the emitted radiation, permitting diffraction limited performance and attosecond phase locking of the harmonic radiation. These unique properties may allow the coherent harmonic focusing (CHF) of high harmonics generated from solid density targets to intensities on the order of the Schwinger limit of 1029 W cm-2 with laser systems available in the near future [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 115002 (2004)] and thus pave the way for unique experiments exploring the nonlinear properties of vacuum on ultra-fast timescales. In this paper we investigate experimentally as well as numerically the prospect of focusing high harmonics under realistic experimental conditions and demonstrate, using particle in cell (PIC) simulations, that precise control of the wavefronts and thus the focusability of the generated harmonics is possible with pre-shaped targets.

We describe and demonstrate a novel experimental technique to record two picosecond-separated images of the evolution of a single-shot laser-produced plasma using a two-color probe beam. In this technique, the probe beam was first partially frequency doubled. The 1ω and 2ω components were then temporally separated in a dispersive medium. The pulses remained intrinsically synchronized, both having a duration of ∼150 fs, but they were separated by 4.1 ps. Using a Nomarskii-type interferometer, this novel technique was used to obtain two time-resolved snapshots of the evolution of the electron density at different time steps during the formation of a relativistic plasma channel.

Continuing efforts in ultrashort pulse engineering have recently led to the breakthroughs of the generation of attosecond (10−18 s) pulse trains1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and isolated pulses8,9,10,11. Although trains of multiple pulses can be generated through the interaction of many-optical-cycle pulses with gases—a process that has led to intense extreme-ultraviolet emission3,4,5—the generation of isolated high-intensity pulses, which requires few-cycle driving pulses, remains a challenge. Here, we report a vital step towards the generation of such pulses, the production of broad continuum extreme-ultraviolet emission using a high-intensity, many-cycle, infrared pulsed laser, through the interferometric modulation of the ellipticity of 50-fs-long driving pulses. The increasing availability of high-power many-cycle lasers and their potential use in the construction of intense attosecond radiation—with either gas or solid-surface targets12—offer exciting opportunities for multiphoton extreme-ultraviolet-pump–extreme-ultraviolet-probe studies of laser–matter and laser–plasma interactions.

We demonstrate a tool for quantitative measurements in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral region measuring spatially resolved atomic ionization products at the focus of an EUV beam. The ionizing radiation is a comb of the 11th–15th harmonics of a Ti:Sapphire femtosecond laser beam produced in a Xenon gas jet. The spatial ion distribution at the focus of the harmonics is recorded using an ion microscope. Spatially resolved single- and two-photon ionization products of Argon and Helium are observed. From such ion distributions single- and two-photon generalized cross sections can be extracted by a self-calibrating method. The observation of spatially resolved two-EUV-photon ionization constitutes an initial step towards future single-shot temporal characterization of attosecond pulses.

In this contribution, we address laser-driven electron transport in fast ignition research and the need for ultra-fast (

Recent developments in the generation, metrology and potential applications of XUV-attosecond (as) pulses, formed by the coherent superposition of harmonics of an infrared femtosecond (fs) laser pulse, are reviewed. Particular emphasis is given to the recently achieved second-order autocorrelation (AC) measurement of a sub-femtosecond (sub-fs) pulse train. The method is a non-trivial extension in the XUV spectral range of the well-established technique routinely used in ‘fs’ pulse metrology. Besides the direct visualization of a periodic attosecond structure and the quantitative information it supplies, the approach introduces a unique technique for the implementation of XUV-pump XUV-probe type of experimental studies of ultra-fast phenomena. It further relates to the metrology and time domain application interests of other advanced XUV radiation sources, such as the XFEL-based installations. While the implementation of the method and its refined versions with laser harmonics is a challenge at the limits of the realizable, the profoundly high scheduled intensities of XFEL sources are expected to sufficiently enhance its robustness and range of applicability.

The unequivocal demonstration of attosecond XUV pulse train generation based on the synthesis of a comb of harmonics of an infrared femtosecond laser pulse is inevitably linked to a reliable method of pulse characterization in this temporal regime. The most commonly used method to date relies on a cross-correlation technique between the fundamental laser frequency and the XUV light from which a measurement of the relative phases of the consecutive harmonics is obtained and the attosecond temporal structure in a train of XUV pulses is inferred. Here we report on an alternative method that renders possible the direct observation of a train of attosecond pulses in form of a second-order autocorrelation trace. The method is an extension in the XUV spectral range of the well-established technique commonly used for the characterization of femtosecond laser pulses. Besides being the first direct visualization of a periodic attosecond structure, the approach supplies quantitative information on the overall pulse ...

We report on the progress towards a 2nd-order autocorrelation measurement of a coherent superposition of the 7th to the 15th harmonic of the fundamental frequency of the Ti : Sapphire laser. The two-photon ionization of He atoms was investigated and found to be an appropriate non-linear detector. In addition, the technique of volume autocorrelation based on a split mirror wavefront divider was analysed and shown to exhibit adequate degree of modulation. Moreover, the approach presented opens up the path to XUV-pump XUV-probe type of temporal studies of ultrafast processes with a sub-fs temporal resolution.

We present an experimental and theoretical study of the influence of the spatial beam quality (fluence and phase distributions) on the second-harmonic generation in KDP crystals pumped by 180-fs pulses at 790 nm. Conversion efficiency and beam focusability are investigated experimentally and theoretically by the numerical analysis of the second harmonic, considering effects due to the cubic nonlinearity, beam diffraction, group-velocity walk-off, and dispersion of the pulses. It was found that the uniform intensity and phase distributions of the fundamental beam are essential to obtain a high focal intensity of the second-harmonic beam.

Temporal probing of a number of fundamental dynamical processes requires intense pulses at femtosecond or even attosecond (1 as = 10-18 s) timescales. A frequency ‘comb’ of extreme-ultraviolet odd harmonics can easily be generated in the interaction of subpicosecond laser pulses with rare gases: if the spectral components within this comb possess an appropriate phase relationship to one another, their Fourier synthesis results in an attosecond pulse train1,2. Laser pulses spanning many optical cycles have been used for the production of such light bunching3,4, but in the limit of few-cycle pulses the same process produces isolated attosecond bursts5,6. If these bursts are intense enough to induce a nonlinear process in a target system7,8,9, they can be used for subfemtosecond pump–probe studies of ultrafast processes. To date, all methods for the quantitative investigation of attosecond light localization4,6,10 and ultrafast dynamics11 rely on modelling of the cross-correlation process between the extreme-ultraviolet pulses and the fundamental laser field used in their generation. Here we report the direct determination of the temporal characteristics of pulses in the subfemtosecond regime, by measuring the second-order autocorrelation trace of a train of attosecond pulses. The method exhibits distinct capabilities for the characterization and utilization of attosecond pulses for a host of applications in attoscience.

We present experimental results in which a second-order effect, namely two-photon ionization of atomic He induced by a superposition of harmonics, is observed. The harmonics are generated in a Xe gas-jet using a 790-nm 10-Hz femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser and are subsequently focused into a He gas-jet with a Kirkpatrick–Baez arrangement. The superposition is formed by using a thin In filter and it comprises the 7th to 13th harmonics. Solving the time-dependent Schrodinger equation for He in a polychromatic laser field, the He+ ion yield is calculated as a function of the total XUV intensity. Using the calculated yield and taking into account the focusing and transmission properties of the arrangement, the number of He+ ions produced per laser pulse is estimated and is found to be in reasonable agreement with its measured value. The total number of ions produced non-resonantly follows a nearly quadratic dependence on the harmonic intensity, thus establishing the feasibility of a second-order auto-correlation measurement of the superposition of harmonics, i.e., of a direct temporal characterization of attosecond pulse trains.

A new Michelson interferometer utilizing a transmission grating as a beamsplitter is presented. The general features of three different interferometer geometries, as they result from ray tracing analysis, and the application areas of their corresponding operational modes are summarized. The interferometer exhibits an overall ultra-low dispersion, wavelength selectivity and flat response over a broad spectral region in the UV-XUV. Its pulse distortion level is found to be of the order of few attoseconds for higher harmonics. Thus, the prospect of nearly dispersionless auto-and cross-correlation measurements of individual harmonics or harmonic superposition, aiming at their temporal characterization appears to be realizable. Experimental tests of the interferometer, in which the interferometric and intensity autocorrelation spectra of the fundamental and third harmonic of a 45 fs Ti:Sapphire laser were measured, are described. Its performance in the fs regime is experimentally evaluated by comparin...

A novel application of a free-standing transmission grating as a beam splitter in a Michelson-type interferometer is described. The arrangement can operate in the XUV and soft X-ray spectral region and, therefore, it is well suited for the characterization of attosecond pulses. Using ray-tracing codes, we have analyzed three different setups in which spherical mirrors are employed in conjunction with the transmission grating and have investigated in detail their dispersive characteristics. It is shown that such an arrangement can be made to exhibit group-delay dispersion of ∼1 as2 while it provides two co-propagating and converging beams.

The tunnelling of an electron through a suppressed atomic potential followed by its motion in the continuum, is the fundamental mechanism underlying strong-field laser-atom/molecule interactions. Due to its quantum nature, the interaction is governed by the phase of the released electron wave-packets. Thus, detailed mapping of the electron wave-packet interferences provides essential insight into the physics underlying the interaction. A process which is providing access to the intricacies of the interaction is the generation of high order harmonics of the laser frequency. The phase-amplitude distribution of the emitted extreme-ultraviolet (EUV), carries the complete information about the harmonic generation process and vice-versa. Thus, the visualization of the EUV-spatial-amplitude-distribution, as it results from interfering electron wave-packet contributions, is of crucial importance. Restrictions to this accomplishment are due to the spatially integrating measurement approaches applied so far, that average out the phase effects in the generation process. In this work, we demonstrate a method which overcomes this obstacle. An EUV-spatial-amplitude-distribution-image is induced from the imprint on the measured spatial distribution of ions, produced through EUV-photon ionization of atoms. Interference extremes in the image carry phase information about the interfering electron wave-packets. The present approach provides detailed insight on the strong-field laser-atom interaction mechanism, while establishing the era of phase selective interaction studies. Furthermore, it paves the way for substantial enhancement of the spectral and temporal precision of measurements by in-situ controlling the phase distribution of the emitted radiation and/or spatially selecting the EUV-radiation-atom interaction products., Comment: 13 pages main text with 4 figures, 7 pages supporting material with 3 figures

We have developed a magnetic spectrometer to characterize the hot electrons generated in high-intensity (>1018 W/cm2) laser-plasma interaction experiments. It comprises a dispersive element consisting of a permanent dipole magnet and an electron detector incorporating 45 scintillating/light-guiding plastic fibers connected to a cooled charged-coupled device camera. The main features of this instrument are high spectral resolution, low sensitivity to x and γ rays, and versatility due to its compact design. Performance and operational capabilities are illustrated based on experimental results in which electron energy–spectra in the range of 520 keV to 12.6 MeV were obtained with an energy resolution of 10% and a detection threshold of 106 electrons per MeV.

We have measured angularly resolved and absolutely calibrated spectra of the multi-MeV electrons produced by relativistic self-channeling in a high-density gas jet. Using 200 fs laser pulses with ${P}_{L}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}1.2\mathrm{TW}$, we have investigated the electron spectrum dependence on the plasma electron density in the range of $3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{19}--4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{20}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$. The experimentally obtained results are closely reproduced by three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. A detailed analysis shows that the self-modulated laser wake field, although active, cannot explain the experimental energy spectrum. The bulk of the fast electrons are produced by direct laser acceleration at the channel betatron resonance.

Two-colour phase control of gas harmonic generation has been demonstrated using a 200-fs Ti:sapphire laser and its second harmonic. In the detection range covering the 7th to the 20th harmonic order, a modulation of up to 27% in the harmonic emission signal was observed by precisely varying the relative phase between the two colours. Simulations based on the single-particle response predict enhancement of the high harmonic efficiency by orders of magnitude for a given relative phase between the two colours.

We report on measurements of the equation-of-state of copper and gold in the multi-ten Megabar range, opacity measurements based on K-shell absorption in aluminium, and X-ray laser studies on a large number of neon-like ions applying the prepulse technique. For these investigations, the one-beam iodine laser facility ASTERIX emitting pulses with energies of up to 1000 J at 1315 nm and of up to 420 J at 438 nm was used. We also give a brief account of experimental and theoretical results referring to the propagation of an ultrashort pulse through underdense hydrogen or nitrogen plasmas and X-ray spectra from an optically field-ionized nitrogen plasma generated either by linearly or elliptically polarized light. For these investigations, 150-fs/200-mJ/800-nm pulses emitted from our titanium:sapphire laser ATLAS were employed.

Optical investigations are reported of the interaction of $0.3$ TW, 250 fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses with underdense plasmas created from high density gas jet targets. Time resolved shadowgraphy using a $2\ensuremath{\omega}$ probe pulse, images of the transmitted radiation and images of $1\ensuremath{\omega}$ and $2\ensuremath{\omega}$ side radiation are presented for various gases. The experimental results and their analysis based on a simple numerical Gaussian beam model show that ionization-induced refraction dominates the interaction process for all gases except hydrogen. The numerical modeling also shows that for a given laser power there exists only a narrow density range in which self-focusing can be expected to occur. In the case of hydrogen for electron densities greater than $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{20}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$, the onset of channeling expected at the critical power for relativistic self-focusing is experimentally observed. X-ray and forward stimulated Raman scattering measurements were also conducted to verify the onset of high intensity relativistic interactions and the onset of fast electron generation.

Beam divergences of high-order extreme ultraviolet harmonics from intense laser interactions with steep plasma density gradients are studied through experiment and Fourier analysis of the harmonic spatial phase. We show that while emission due to the relativistically oscillating mirror mechanism can be explained by ponderomotive surface denting, in agreement with previous results, the divergence of the emission due to the coherent wake emission mechanism requires a combination of the dent phase and an intrinsic emission phase. The temporal dependence of the divergences for both mechanisms is highlighted while it is also shown that the coherent wake emission divergence can be small in circumstances where the phase terms compensate each other.

Intense thermal x-rays with brightness temperatures in the range 50–100 eV have been generated in laser-irradiated high- Z targets such as plane thin converter foils or spherical micro-cavities. These x-ray sources were used to irradiate various absorber foils consisting of low- Z matter (Be, B, C and Al). The radiative heating of these materials has been studied by time-resolved spectroscopy at sub-keV photon energies. The radiative burnthrough occurring as a consequence of the transition from the cold solid state to an ionized gas has been observed. The measurements agree well with calculations of the radiation transport, for which electron impact line broadening was found to be essential. Of interest is also smoothing of the K -edge of Be and the L -edge of Al observed in the beginning of the heating when the foil is still dense and in a partially degenerate state. We also present first results on the reemission of carbon foils heated by x-rays generated in a gold micro-cavity.

We report the generation of few-cycle multiterawatt light pulses with a temporal contrast of 10(10), when measured as close as 2 ps to the pulse's peak. Tens of picoseconds before the main pulse, the contrast value is expected to spread much beyond the measurement limit. Separate measurements of contrast improvement factors at different stages of the laser system indicate that real contrast values may reach 10(19) and 10(14), when measured 50 and 25 ps before the pulse's peak, respectively. The combination of the shortest pulse duration and the highest contrast renders our system a promising front-end architecture for future multipetawatt laser facilities.

We report a comparative experimental study, showing severe inconsistencies between two main attosecond pulse metrology methodologies, namely the 2nd order IVAC and the RABITT techniques [Phys. Rev. A 82, 021402(R) (2010)] and their derivatives.

The plasma medium converts laser light into higher harmonics more efficiently than gaseous media without inherent limitation on the laser intensity. This opens the prospect of generating brilliant, single attosecond pulses for applications.

We report on ultra-broadband XUV Fourier Transform spectroscopy, implemented through XUV time resolve spectroscopy of an autoionizing electron wave-packet, i.e. a coherent superposition of doubly excited and Auger decaying inner-shell excited states.

The ASTERIX iodine laser delivers after frequency tripling to λ = 0.44-μm laser pulses with energies up to 500 J at a pulse duration of 300 ps for target experiments. Experimental investigations of radiative transfer in low- and high-Z materials are reported.

The two basic approaches underlying most of the metrology of attosecond pulse trains are compared in the spectral region $~14\ensuremath{-}24$ eV, that is, the second-order intensity volume autocorrelation and the resolution of attosecond beating by interference of two photon transitions (RABITT). They give rather dissimilar pulse durations. It is concluded that for the present experimental conditions RABITT may underestimate the duration under measurement, due to variations of the driving intensity, but in conjunction with theory allows an estimation of the relative contributions of two different electron trajectories to the extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) radiation.

We present time-resolved studies and Fourier transform spectroscopy of inner-shell excited states undergoing Auger decay and doubly excited autoionizing states, utilizing coherent extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) radiation continua. Series of states spanning a range of ∼4 eV are excited simultaneously. An XUV probe pulse tracks the oscillatory and decaying evolution of the formed wave packet. The Fourier transform of the measured trace reproduces the spectrum of the series. The present work paves the way for ultrabroadband XUV spectroscopy and studies of ultrafast dynamics in all states of matter.

High-intensity X-ray sources such as synchrotrons and free-electron lasers need large particle accelerators to drive them. The demonstration of a synchrotron X-ray source that uses a laser-driven particle accelerator could widen the availability of intense X-rays for research in physics, materials science and biology. Synchrotrons and free-electron lasers are the most powerful sources of X-ray radiation. They constitute invaluable tools for a broad range of research1; however, their dependence on large-scale radiofrequency electron accelerators means that only a few of these sources exist worldwide. Laser-driven plasma-wave accelerators2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 provide markedly increased accelerating fields and hence offer the potential to shrink the size and cost of these X-ray sources to the university-laboratory scale. Here, we demonstrate the generation of soft-X-ray undulator radiation with laser-plasma-accelerated electron beams. The well-collimated beams deliver soft-X-ray pulses with an expected pulse duration of ∼10 fs (inferred from plasma-accelerator physics). Our source draws on a 30-cm-long undulator11 and a 1.5-cm-long accelerator delivering stable electron beams10 with energies of ∼210 MeV. The spectrum of the generated undulator radiation typically consists of a main peak centred at a wavelength of ∼18 nm (fundamental), a second peak near ∼9 nm (second harmonic) and a high-energy cutoff at ∼7 nm. Magnetic quadrupole lenses11 ensure efficient electron-beam transport and demonstrate an enabling technology for reproducible generation of tunable undulator radiation. The source is scalable to shorter wavelengths by increasing the electron energy. Our results open the prospect of tunable, brilliant, ultrashort-pulsed X-ray sources for small-scale laboratories.

The temporal characteristics of the harmonic emission from solid targets irradiated with intense laser pulses is examined in detail. In the case where the CoherentWake Emission mechanism is dominant it is found that indeed the harmonics thus produced possess a frequency chirp resulting in non Fourier-Transform-Limited pulses. A simple model explains the underlying physics while Particle-In-Cell simulations support the conclusions drawn.

Time domain investigations of dynamic processes involving electronic motion in all states of matter require temporal resolution of the scale of the atomic unit of time (24.1889 as). Intensive efforts in ultra-short radiation pulse engineering led recently to the breakthrough into the sub-femtosecond regime, assuring in the dawn of attoscience. Attosecond pulses are synthesized from XUV and/or X-ray waves, with higher order harmonic generation (HOHG) being so far the core process of the synthesizer. Intense attosecond pulse generation and the temporal characterization of such fragile against dispersion objects became a challenge for a number of international research campaigns. The collaboration between MPQ-Garching and FORTH-IESL led to the systematic development of one of the most promising approaches of attosecond metrology, based on pure non-linear XUV processes. The approaches are highly relevant to the temporal characterization of femtosecond and attosecond XUV and X-ray radiation, as well as to pump-probe applications. Hence, in addition to HOHG, they are highly pertinent to the diagnostics and time domain applications of the rapidly developing XFEL sources.

Results of novel experiments with laser-heated capillary targets are presented. In these experiments the interior of gold capillaries having a 200- or 700-μm inner diameter and a 2–12-mm length was axially irradiated by injection of the laser energy through one of the end openings. A frequency-doubled Nd:glass laser (λ = 0.53 μm) was employed, delivering 8-J energy in 3 ns. The experiments showed no significant backreflection of laser light. Depending on the capillary diameter and length, most of the laser energy is either transmitted or absorbed inside the capillary. The transmission of laser light was measured as a function of capillary length and found to be in good agreement with the predictions of a simple theoretical model. Two extreme cases could be identified. Capillaries with a 700-μm diameter show uninhibited laser light propagation due to multireflections off the inner wall. In contrast, at the entrance of capillaries with a 200-μm inner diameter a plasma plug forms that absorbs most of the laser energy. In both cases significant energy transport was observed to occur in the axial direction. A stable and strongly radiating plasma column is formed along the capillary axis by the collision of the radially imploding plasma. During the collision, part of the hydrodynamic energy of the plasma is converted into radiative energy. In a special case-a lower limit of ≊7% could be inferred for the conversion efficiency from laser light into X-ray radiation emitted from the rear opening of the capillary.

We have investigated the MeV bremsstrahlung which is emitted when fast electrons generated by the interaction of 200 mJ, 130 fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses with a preformed plasma penetrate into a solid target. Employing different targets the dependence of the γ-ray spectrum on the atomic number was studied. We detected single γ photons with an energy up to 2.5 MeV and found a maximum conversion efficiency of the laser energy into MeV bremsstrahlung of 4×10−6. Data analysis using a Monte Carlo code revealed a fast-electron temperature of 0.9 MeV.

We have performed a systematic study through particle-in-cell simulations to investigate the generation of attosecond pulse from relativistic laser plasmas when laser pulse duration approaches the few-cycle regime. A significant enhancement of attosecond pulse energy has been found to depend on laser pulse duration, carrier envelope phase, and plasma scale length. Based on the results obtained in this work, the potential of attaining isolated attosecond pulses with ∼100 μJ energy for photons >16 eV using state-of-the-art laser technology appears to be within reach.

Two XUV-photon double ionization of Kr and Ar by an intense superposition of higher-order harmonics of a Ti:sapphire laser is demonstrated. The logarithm of the Kr2+ and Ar2+ signals measured as a function of the logarithm of the XUV intensity depicts a linear dependence with a slope of 1.8 +/- 0.2. Under the XUV intensities and photon energies employed, this slope value provides evidence that to the observed double ionization the direct process has a significant contribution. Applications of the above process to attosecond pulse metrology are also discussed. Physical Review A

The reported observation of two-photon ionization of He by $13\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$ photons of the TESLA Facility in T. Laarmann, A. R. B. de Castro, P. G\"urtler, W. Laasch, J. Schulz, H. Wabnitz, and T. M\"oller, Phys. Rev. A72, 023409 (2005) is ambiguous, as it is not supported by the experimental data presented. We discuss the lack of evidence for the claimed two-photon ionization.

The temporal intensity distribution of the third harmonic of a Ti:sapphire laser generated in Xe gas is fully reconstructed from its spectral phase and amplitude distributions. The spectral phases are retrieved by cross correlating the fundamental laser frequency field with that of the third harmonic, in a three laser versus one harmonic photon coupling scheme. The third harmonic spectral amplitude distribution is extracted from its field autocorrelation. The measured pulse duration is found to be in agreement with that expected from lowest order perturbation theory both for unstretched and chirped pulses. Phys Rev Lett

The emission of fundamental and harmonic radiation from the rear side of thin foils in the thickness range $50--460\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{nm}$ irradiated by intense frequency doubled Ti:sapphire laser pulses of the duration of $150\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{fs}$ and intensities up to a few ${10}^{18}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{W}∕{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$ was investigated. Following up a previous study of the rear side harmonic emission [Teubner et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 185001 (2004)], we measured the emission efficiencies, polarization properties, and the spectral shapes of the fundamental frequency and the second harmonic. Rear side emission is only observed when the obliquely incident laser light is $p$-polarized. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations indicate that the foils remain strongly overdense during the interaction with the laser pulse and that the rear side emission is caused by energetic electron bunches which are generated at the front side by resonance absorption. They are accelerated into the foil and drive strong plasma oscillations at the fundamental and higher harmonic frequencies.

Temporal widths of an attosecond (asec) XUV radiation pulse train, formed by the superposition of higher order harmonics, have been recently determined utilizing a 2nd order autocorrelation measurement. An assessment of the validity of the approach, for the broadband XUV radiation of asec pulses, is implemented through ab initio calculations modeling the spectral and temporal response of the two-XUV-photon He ionization detector employed. The measured width of the asec bursts is discussed in terms of the spectral phases of the individual harmonics, as well as in terms of the spatially modulated temporal width of the radiation, and is found in reasonable agreement with the expected duration.

We review recent developments in the generation and metrology of XUV-attosecond (as) pulses. The review includes an extended report on the recently achieved 2 nd -order autocorrelation measurement of a sub-femtosecond (sub-fs) pulse train.

We investigate the influence of the laser prepulse due to amplified spontaneous emission on the acceleration of protons in thin-foil experiments. We show that changing the prepulse duration has a profound effect on the maximum proton energy. We find an optimal value for the target thickness, which strongly depends on the prepulse duration. At this optimal thickness, the rear side acceleration process leads to the highest proton energies, while this mechanism is rendered ineffective for thinner targets due to a prepulse-induced plasma formation at the rear side. In this case, the protons are primarily accelerated by the front side mechanism leading to lower cutoff energies.

High-order harmonics generated by weakly relativistic femtosecond laser pulses interacting with solid and thin foil targets were studied. It was found that the conversion efficiency is one or two orders of magnitude larger than that of gas-harmonics and thus due to the high laser intensity also the harmonics are very intense. In addition, anomalies and complex interference structures have been observed in the harmonic spectra of the solid targets. They are explained by simulations. Furthermore, for the first time intense harmonics were observed from thin foil targets and, in particular, from the target rear side. This type of studies provides a promising tool for obtaining information about the laser plasma interaction itself, e.g., on the presence of large fields and oscillations inside the foil up to a penetration depth comparable to the laser wavelength.

The harmonic emission from thin solid carbon and aluminum foils, irradiated by 150 fs long frequency-doubled Ti:sapphire laser pulses at lambda=395 nm and peak intensities of a few 10(18) W/cm(2), has been studied. In addition to the harmonics emitted from the front side in the specular direction, we observe harmonics up to the 10th order, including the fundamental from the rear side in the direction of the incident beam, while the foil is still strongly overdense. The experimental observations are well reproduced by particle-in-cell simulations. They reveal that strong coupling between the laser-irradiated side and the rear side occurs via the nonlocal electron current driven by the laser light.

We present experimental results and theoretical analysis of two-photon ionization of He by a superposition of the 7th to the 13th harmonic of a Ti:sapphire laser. Solving the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation for He in a coherent polychromatic field, the ${\mathrm{H}\mathrm{e}}^{+}$ yield is calculated. From this yield the number of ${\mathrm{H}\mathrm{e}}^{+}$ ions produced has been estimated and found in reasonable agreement with its measured value. The present results establish the feasibility of a second-order autocorrelation measurement of superposition of harmonics, and thus they represent the precursor towards the direct temporal characterization of attosecond pulse trains.